If the Supreme Court strikes down the Voting Rights Act, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner says, Congress will have to act

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March 14, 2013 9:16PM (UTC)

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, a conservative Republican, told Salon that if the Supreme Court strikes down Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, he'll "make" Republicans take action to fix it.

"I think we should see what they did and I think we should, if possible, figure out a way to fix the Supreme Court's objections," Sensenbrenner, who represents Wisconsin, said at CPAC. "The Voting Rights Act has been, I think, the most effective of all of the civil rights laws. It enfranchised all minorities in the south, and that includes both African Americans and Republicans."

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He added: "If you look at what happened after Section 5 was amended in 1982, the number of African-American and Republican representatives in Congress and in state legislatures has gone way up."

When asked if Republicans have the political will to act if the VRA is struck down, Sensenbrenner told Salon: "I'm gonna make them fix it."

Jillian Rayfield

Jillian Rayfield is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on politics. Follow her on Twitter at @jillrayfield or email her at jrayfield@salon.com.